The apartment where I live has long been referred to as an auberge espagnole, a Spanish hostel. The phrase is well-known in French, and describes a gathering- or meeting-place where many people from all different countries come together. (The phrase was, I think, made popular by a film of the same name, that I think everyone a high school or college French class in the US has had to watch for school!)
In the five+ years that my French housemate, Vanessa, has been here, there have been a handful of other French housemates, a series of Americans, and, I believe, a variety of hispanophones (plus perhaps a smattering of other Europeans). Most recently we were Vanessa, Irene (Argentine) and me. For Irene to finish her Master's program, she has to complete an end-of-studies internship. After several complicated and uncertain weeks, she finally got everything squared away for an internship in Strasbourg, and moved out this week. In her place, we've welcomed Etienne, a 23-year-old French guy also doing his end-of-studies internship for his Master's at an engineering school in Toulouse. He's nice and friendly and is easy to chat with.
And Irene has assured us that we have a place to stay whenever we want to hop over to Strasbourg!
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